Cutting shoe for steel sheet piling



1, 1967 J. J DOUGHERTY 3,333,431

CUTTING SHOE FOR STEEL SHEET FILING Filed April 16, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

Jowv J. DOUGHERT) Li W HTTORNEY Aug. 1, 1967 J. J. DOUGHERTY CUTTING SHOE FOR STEEL SHEET FILING 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 16, 1965 w MR E mH Vq W 0 J N W J FvTTORNEY g- 1, 1967 J. J. DOUGHERTY 3,333,431

CUTTING SHOE FOR 5 T E E L S H E E T P I L I NG Filed April 16, 1965 IN VEN TOR.

H E- 5 B iOHN JT DOUQHETRTY 3ml W HTTORNEY United States Patent 3,333,431 CUTTING SHOE FOR STEEL SHEET PILING John J. Dougherty, Cedar Grove, NJ. (262 Rutherford Blvd., Clifton, NJ. 07014) Filed Apr. 16, 1965, Ser. No. 448,641 2 Claims. (Cl. 61-60) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A steel sheet pile cutting shoe having a steel body of channel-shape in configuration and V-shape in crosssection, with side walls inclined inwardly and downwardly and a curved bottom wall, the side walls having upper and lower sections oifset from each other forming interior and exterior shoulders, the interior shoulders having knife edges. A modified shoe has an inclined bottom wall with serrations having knife edges This invention relates generally to steel sheet piling and more particularly to a steel sheet piling cutting shoe.

Steel sheet piling is used for braced and self-sustaining coiferdams, straight-wall bulkheads, docks and retaining Walls, cellular docks, mooring dolphins, breakwaters, jetties, grains, seawalls and cut-off walls.

Steel sheet piling as a rule cannot penetrate layers of hard-pan or coarse sand overlying compressible material, or if penetrating, become bent or torn and result in rejected sheet piling. When encountering sloping rock, sheet piling slides off rock following rock contour resulting in bent or so-called dogleg'ged sheet piling or piles otherwise damaged, incapable of inspection and thus unacceptable.

The present invention will act as a cutter, penetrating heavy layers of dense material such as decomposed rock, that when meeting boulders on its way down to proper bearing material, the present invention will either cut through such material or push such material aside. When encountering sloping bedrock, the present invention results in a properly seated straight sheet pile. Thus, the probability of damaged or crushed sheet piles or the shortened sheet pile is reduced to a minimum and there is no danger of overdriving insofar as the present shoe is concerned.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a shoe for the end of a steel pile section for reinforcing said end and at the same time serving as a punch and drill when the sheet pile is being driven.

Another object of the invention is to provide a shoe for the end of a steel sheet pile section for augmenting the supporting power of the pile section so that it will function as a combined friction and end bearing foundation pile.

A further object of the invention is to provide an im proved shoe of this type that is especially well adapted to withstand both tensional and compressional longitudinal forces as well as lateral stresses.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a shoe for a steel sheet pile section that will lend itself to fabrication by casting, pressing or forging.

Still another object according to a modification of the invention is to provide a shoe for the end of a steel sheet pile section having means such as indentations for holding the pile section therein.

It is also proposed to provide a shoe for a steel sheet pile section that is economical to manufacture, self-centering, easy to apply, rugged in construction and highly efficient for the purposes intended.

For further comprehension of the invention and of the objects and advantages, reference will be had to the following description thereof and accompanying drawings and to the appended claims wherein the novel features FIG. 3 is an enlarged top perspective View ofthe shoe.

of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on the plane of the line 44 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3 of a shoe embodying a modified form of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 3 of a shoe embodying another modified form of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 5 on a smaller scale of a shoe embodying a further modified form of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the shoe of FIG. 7 shown applied to a steel sheet pile section.

FIG. 9 is a front elevational view of a shoe embodying still another modified form of the invention, parts being shown broken away.

FIG. 10 is a bottom plan view thereof.

FIG. 11 is an end view as seen from the line 1111 of FIG. 9.

FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 11 showing yet another modified form of the invention.

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the shoe of FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a bottom plan view of the shoe of FIG. 12. FIG. 15 is a view similar to FIG. 13 of a shoe embody-' ing a still further modified form of the invention.

Referring now in detail to the various views of the drawings, a wall 10 of steel sheet pile sections embodying.

one form of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 1 is composed of a plurality of elongated steel sheet pile sections 14. Each section 1-4as best seen in FIG. 2 has an elongated, rectangular shaped body with straight end edges 16, 16. The long sides of the body are slightly curved, each being C-shaped in cross-section forming an elongated socket opening laterally, with one long edge of the C being enlarged to form a knob-shaped edge 20. The long sides of adjacent steel sheet pile sections are adapted to be interlocked by sliding the enlarged knob-shaped long edge 20 downwardly along the elongated socket 18 to the position shown in FIG. 1, the interlock being best seen in FIG. 4.

In accordance with the present invention, a shoe or tip 24 with an elongated body 26 substantially channelshaped, V-shaped in cross-section, is mounted on one end of the steel sheet pile section 14, the bottom end as viewed in FIG. 1. The shoe or tip 24 is preferably formed of alloy steel and varies in length depending upon the width of the steel sheet pile section, for example, from 15" to 18'. The material of the shoe may be thick and the body may be 2 /2" deep, but the dimensions given are not critical. The side walls 28, 28 of the body are inclined downwardly and inwardly and terminate in a slightly curved bottom wall 30. The top of the body is open so that the side and bottom walls define a socket opening for receiving and supporting the bottom end 16 of the body of a steel sheet pile section 14.

In use, the shoe 24 is easily applied to the bottom endor pushes aside boulders, depending upon their size and texture.

Referring nOW to the modified forms of the invention shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, in FIG. 5 the modified form of shoe 24 shown therein differs from the shoe 24 of FIG. 3 merely in that the side walls 28', 28 thereof are formed with opposed top and bottom sections 32 and 34, respectively, in offset planes, forming interior angular shoulders 36 with free outer knife edges 38 and forming outer shoulders 40. The knife edges 38 are adapted to bite into the material of the steel sheet pile section to secure the steel sheet pile section in position. This biting action of edges 38 is due to the pressure of the earth forcing the side walls inwardly.

In FIG. 6, another modified form of shoe 24" is shown. The shoe 24" differs from shoe 24 of FIG. 3 in that the side walls 28", 28" are formed with depressed curved portions centrally therealong constituting interior curved indentations 42 adapted to clamp the steel sheet pile section therebetween to hold the section in place.

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate another modified form of shoe 24" differing from the shoe 24 of FIG. 1 merely in that one side wall 28" is formed with spaced holes 44 therealong to facilitate welding of the shoe to the steel sheet pile section 14' as indicated at 46 in FIG. 8. The holes may be in both side walls but offset in position.

In the modified form of shoe 24 shown in FIGS. 9, and 11, the bottom wall 30 is enlarged and elongated and beveled as best seen in FIG. 11. The bottom wall 30 on both sides thereof is formed with spaced elongated alternating notched and curved portions 48 and 49, respectively, forming corrugations, the notched and curved portions on one side being offset from the notches on the other side as best seen in FIG. 10. The beveled corrugated sides of the bottom wall terminates in straight flat blunt extreme end 50. This beveled corrugated formation of the bottom wall facilitates penetration of the soil and prevents crumbling or bending of the ends of the steel sheet pile sections while being driven or when the pile sections hit hard pan or rocks.

The modified form of shoe 24 shown in FIGS. 12 to 14, inclusive, is somewhat similar to the shoe 24 of FIG, 11 except that the extreme end of the bottom wall 30 is inclined, the inclined walls defining a knife edge 52 instead of being flat and blunt.

4 In the modified form of shoe 24 shown in FIG. the bottom wall of the shoe is corrugated along the sides and also is serrated along the bottom as indicated at 54.

These serrations may have their faces beveled to form 5 knife edges such as the knife edges 52 in FIG. 12.

The modified forms of shoe may be held in place on the steel sheet pile sections by friction, welding or in any other suitable manner.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that changes in details of construction might be made without departing from the principle of the invention, and I desire therefore to be limited only by the state of the prior art and the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A shoe for a steel sheet pile section comprising a steel body V-shaped in cross-section channel member, said body having side walls inclining downwardly and inwardly, terminating in a curved bottom wall, the side walls having upper and lower sections disposed in offset planes forming interior and exterior shoulders, the interior shoulders having a knife edge thereon.

2. A shoe for sheet steel pile sections as set forth in claim 1 wherein the side walls terminate in a tapered bottom wall, the side walls of said tapered bot-tom wall being alternately notched and grooved constituting corrugations, the end of the tapered bottom Wall being serrated and the faces of the serrations being beveled forming knife edges.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 860,053 7/1907 Nye 61--60 878,141 2/1908 Jackson 61-53 0 912,496 2/1909 Skinner 6l-60 1,333,842 3/1920 Burkee 52- 155 3,126,709 3/1964 Dougherty 61-53 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,005 1864 Great Britain.

DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner.

JACOB SHAPIRO, Examiner. 

1. A SHOE FOR A STEEL SHEET PILE SECTION COMPRISING A STEEL BODY V-SHAPED IN CROSS-SECTION CHANNEL MEMBER, SAID BODY HAVING SIDE WALLS INCLINING DOWNWARDLY AND INWARDLY, TERMINATING A CURVED BOTTOM WALL, THE SIDE WALLS HAVING UPPER AND LOWER SECTIONS DISPOSED IN OFFSET PLANES FORMING INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR SHOULDERS, THE INTERIOR SHOULDERS HAVING A KNIFE EDGE THEREON. 